KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — Former federal law minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has urged the government to take the legal battle against the self-proclaimed heirs of the defunct Sulu sultanate to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
News portal News Straits Times today reported that Wan Junaidi said that the ICJ offered greater credibility in resolving international disputes.
"Taking the matter to the ICJ would have been a better idea as the global community can see what the claimant is doing.
"We (the Malaysian government) should no longer settle with a defensive stand. We must be on the offensive (in the legal battle against the Sulu sultanate heirs),” he was quoted as saying by the news portal.
He said by doing so, Malaysia could put an end to the persistent efforts of the claimants and other parties who engage in international "forum shopping" to exert pressure and make absurd demands on the government.
According to him, going to the ICJ would enable the government to raise ‘basic issues’ concerning the claimants' jurisdiction and legal rights.
"There are many legal issues that we can raise, including whether this group of people is indeed the descendants of the sultan of Sulu.
"Another question we can raise is whether they have the right to make the claims against Malaysia since we are an independent and sovereign nation.
"If the ICJ finds that (the claimants) have no jurisdiction and that Malaysia is a sovereign country, which I believe will be the case, it can perhaps put an end to this whole issue,” he was quoted as saying.
Wan Junaidi also acknowledged French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna's statement on Saturday affirming France's recognition of Malaysia's full sovereignty within its internationally recognised borders.
This recognition, he believed, would provide an advantage to the Malaysian government in its legal dispute with the claimants.
According to the news report, he disagreed with the suggestions to resolve the matter in Malaysian courts, particularly in Sabah.
He said that the High Court in Sabah had already rendered a judgment against the claimants on January 14, 2020.
The court declared that the 1878 agreement between the Sulu sultan, Baron de Overbeck, and Alfred Dent of the British North Borneo Company did not contain any arbitration clause.
The High Court also ruled that Malaysia had never waived its sovereign immunity and that the arbitrator lacked jurisdiction to resolve the matter.
Wan Junaidi added that the arbitrator, Gonzalo Stampa, had disregarded this decision and chose to ignore the rulings in Malaysia's favour by Spanish and French courts.
"Taking it to the Malaysian courts would be a futile exercise. This is because he (Stampa) would only take the case elsewhere,” he was quoted as saying.
He also said that over 170 countries, signatories to the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards also known as the New York Convention, could prolong the issue.
"Globally, there are countries that are in favour of or not in favour of arbitration. For countries that are in favour of arbitration, they seem to find ways to recognise a claim,” he was quoted saying in News Strait Times.
